Holistic Measurement Approach of Customer Experiences - Findings from a Japanese New Car Buyer Study

Literature on customer experience management suggests that a seamless integration of touchpoints would create stronger customer experiences, but how to effectively do so is a key point of debate. This paper presents findings from an empirical study that surveyed Japanese car buyers in terms of their perception of touchpoints throughout their customer journey. The study is based on a framework drawing from "fluency" as a way to understand technology integration, in which the authors propose an integrated and holistic approach to measuring challenges that impede the "fluency" of experiences and result in what they call "friction." Findings of this study show that while the majority of customers report that their car purchase experience was smooth and hassle free, a significant share also report points of resistance that made the customer journey more difficult or fragmented. Furthermore, a correspondence analysis of open-ended questions asking for suggestions to make the experience easier and hassle free demonstrated that each purchase stage is characterized by distinct word combinations, with a significantly high rate of requests to increase online touchpoints and enhancing test drives in the early pre-purchase stage, to facilitate negotiation in the purchase stage, and to increase after-sales contact and support activities in the post-purchase stage.